Review of "The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck," by C. S. Forester

 Review of

The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck, by C. S. Forester

Four out of five stars

The first British victory of WWII

 In September of 1939, German forces rapidly overran Poland. In April of 1940, German forces assaulted Norway and Denmark, easily defeating them. In May of 1940, German forces attacked and defeated the forces of Holland, Belgium and France, as well as the British Expeditionary Force. That campaign essentially ended with the mass evacuation of Dunkirk.

 German forces then began their air attacks against England and for some time, it appeared that the German air force would prevail. In April of 1941, German forces invaded Yugoslavia and Greece, adding to their victories and Allied defeats. After all of this, the most powerful battleship in the world, the Bismarck, sailed out from Germany in the middle of May in 1941.

 The first engagement of British forces with the Bismarck was a disaster for the British, their battleship the Hood was completely destroyed and only three of her crew survived. However, as happens so many times in war, the British air force was able to get off a lucky shot. Even though the Bismarck took a torpedo his in the side early and was able to shrug it off, a torpedo hit the rudder and torpedo mechanism, slowing it down and preventing it from making a run back to port. Crippled with no hope for air cover, the Bismarck was a sitting duck for the British forces that converged for the kill. It was the first real victory of British forces against the Germans in the war.  

 This book is a semi-fictional rendition of the last days of the Bismarck, the actual events are real, the supposed conversations between German commanders is fictional. The author does an excellent job in making it clear how great the tension was during the hunt and how relieved the British leaders and public were when the Bismarck went down. There are also some hints regarding how foolish the German leaders were. If the Bismarck had stayed within their air cover, it would have been almost impossible for the British to have sunk her. The sinking of the Bismarck was also the first clear evidence that the days of the battleship fighting alone were over.